Inflatable Firearm Support

ABSTRACT

The firearm support includes one or more inflatable air bladders and a valve. The valve allows the user to inflate and deflate the air bladder to selectively control the firmness of the support device and the elevation of the firearm.

This application claims priority from co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/516,356 filed on Apr. 1, 2011 entitled “Inflatable Firearm Support” which is hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention relates to “beanbags” used as firearm supports for long distance shooting, and in particular, an inflatable “beanbag” for supporting a firearm.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Snipers and other precision tactical shooters often use tactical or shooter's “beanbags” under the rear of the rifle stock to support and stabilize the weapon during long distance shooting. Minimizing weapon movement is critical to precision long distance shooting and beanbags help isolate the weapon from slight movements caused by the shooter's breathing and heartbeat. With the shooter lying in a prone shooting position on the ground or shooting from a bench or other stable platform, the shooter supports the rifle stock atop the beanbags, which rest on the ground or supporting platform. The shooter further supports the stock by grasping the beanbag with his non-shooting hand while pressing the stock against his shoulder. The shooter's steady grip on the beanbag stabilizes the weapon. In addition to supporting and stabilizing the weapon, the beanbags also allow the shooter to subtly adjust the elevation of the stock by increasing or decreasing his grip on the beanbag. Tactical beanbags must be packed or carried with other gear between shooting positions; consequently, minimizing the weight bulk of a tactical bean bag is highly desirable. Heretofore, traditional beanbags that consist of enclosed cloth bags filled with beans, corn, sand, plastic pellets and other granular substances, have been used as tactical firearms supports, which do not lend themselves for convenient compact carry or quiet use.

The firearm supports or “tactical beanbags” embodying the present invention include one or more inflatable air bladders and a valve that allow the user to manually inflate and deflate the air bladders to selectively control the firmness of the support device and the elevation of the firearm. The present invention seeks to provide a firearm support that reduces the weight and bulk of conventional tactical beanbags, while increasing the functionality of the support. The use of air bladders assures allows for a wider range of adjustment options by inflating or deflating the air bladders as needed to make the necessary elevation adjustments to support the firearm. In addition, the use of an air bladder allows the support to be deflated for very compact storage and greatly reduces the weight of the support over conventional beanbags.

The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may take form in various system and method components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating exemplary embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The drawings illustrate the present invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the firearm support of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the firearm support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 1:

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the firearm support of this invention;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the firearm support of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 4:

FIG. 7 is an end view of a third embodiment of the firearm support of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a partial side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 7:

FIG. 10 is a partial side sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention:

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an end view of a fifth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a partial side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 12:

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention;

FIG. 16 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 15; and

FIG. 17 is an end view of the firearm support of FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Several embodiments of the present invention are described herein. In each embodiment, the firearm support generally includes an internal inflatable air bladder encased by a protective fabric covering. The shape and configuration of each support is dictated by the shape and configuration of the internal air bladder. Ideally, the fabric covering is a durable, water resistant fabric, such as Cordura® nylon from INVISTA, but other suitable materials may be used. The fabric covering is selected so that the firearm support is sufficiently pliable when grasped and squeezed, while providing abrasion resistance to protect the internal air bladder. The covering material may also be colored and camouflaged as desired. While conventional air bladders may be used, preferably, the internal air bladders are filled with a memory foam and are similar to the inflatable mattresses, pillows, cushions and neck rests sold under the trademark THERMAREST by Cascade Design, Inc. of Seattle, Wash., but any conventional air bladder may be used. The foam filled air bladders are constructed by hermetically encasing a block of memory foam between thin air impermeable plastic membranes. The plastic membranes are thermally bonded to and around the memory foam and sealed. The memory foam allows the firearm support to generally maintain its shape even when deflated.

A valve allows the air bladder to be inflated and deflated. The valve also allows the volume of air in the bladder to be regulated to selectively control the firmness of the support device. Ideally, the valve is a conventional two-way conduit with a screw top cap to close the conduit. Although the screw top type two-way valve represents a convenient means for inflating and deflating the air bladder, other types of valves may be employed within the teachings of this invention. The location of the valve on the bladder is selected to accommodate the intended use of the firearm support.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 illustrate an embodiment of the firearm support of this invention, which is designated generally as reference number 10. Firearm support device 10 has a rectangular box shaped configuration. Device 10 includes a memory foam filled air bladder 12, a valve 14 and covering 18. Valve 14 extends through covering 18 and allows a user to manually blow air into and release air from foam-filled air bladder 12. As shown in FIG. 3, foam filled air bladder 12 is formed by a block of memory foam 16 that is hermetically encased by an outer membrane 17.

FIGS. 4-9 illustrate second and third embodiments of the firearm support of this invention, which are designated respectively as reference numbers 20 and 30. Supports 20 and 30 are identical in construction to support 10, except that support 20 has a triangular configuration and support 30 has an L-shaped configuration.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention, which is designated generally as reference number 40. Firearm support 40 combines a conventional bean bag with an internal air bladder. As shown, firearm support 40 has a rectangular box shaped configuration with a recessed V-shaped end 50 for receiving the firearm. As with the other embodiments, support 40 includes a rectangular foam-filled air bladder 42, a valve 44 and a covering 48. The recessed end of firearm support 40 also has an internal cavity 51 filled with inert, hydrophobic pellets 52. While cavity 51 is ideally filled with inert and hydrophobic materials, such as plastic pellets, other granular materials, such as sand, beans, corn, gravel and the like can be used as filler. In use, air bladder 42 allows the user to raise and lower the elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in the air bladder. As with a conventional tactical bean bag, the user squeezes the pellet filled cavity at the recessed end where the firearm rests to make the minute adjustments to the firearm when sighting.

FIGS. 12 - 14 illustrate a fifth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention, which is designated as reference number 60. As shown, firearm support 60 has an L-shaped configuration similar to firearm support 30, but includes a pair of pellet filled pads 62 and 64 mounted to the inflatable L-shaped main body 66. As with the other embodiments, the inflatable main body includes the foam-filled air bladder, valve and cloth cover. Both pellet filled pads 62 and 64 provide a resting surface for a firearm. As with firearm support 40, the user can selectively raise and lower the elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in the air bladder and make minute sighting adjustments by squeezing the pellet filled pads 62 and 64.

FIGS. 15-17 illustrate a sixth embodiment of the firearm support of this invention, which is designated as reference number 70. Firearm support 70 includes an inflatable main body 72 and a pellet filled firearm saddle 74. The main body is shaped similar to a neck pillow and as with the other embodiments, inflatable main body 72 includes the foam-filled air bladder, valve and cover. Firearm saddle 62 extends from the top of the main body and is again filled ideally with inert hydrophobic granular material 74, such as plastic pellets, although other granular materials may be used. Again, the user can selectively raise and lower the elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in the air bladder and make minute sighting adjustments by squeezing the pellet filled saddle 72.

FIGS. 18-20 illustrates a seventh embodiment of the firearm support of this invention which is designated as reference number 80. Similar to firearm support 10 of FIGS. 1-3, firearm support 80 has a rectangular box shaped configuration. Firearm support 80, however, uses a conventional air bladder 82 rather than a foam-filled air bladder. Firearm support 80 uses a similar valve 84 and covering 88, but also includes a foam padding 86 around air bladder 82. Again, valve 84 extends through padding 86 and covering 88 and allows a user to manually blow air into and release air from air bladder 82.

One skilled in the art will note the use of an air bladder in the firearm support of this invention provides a greater degree of adjustment and functionality than that of conventional tactical bean bags. The user can selectively inflate and deflate the air bladder to adjust the elevation and firmness of the support. As shown in certain embodiments, the air bladder can be used and incorporated with a conventional bean bag or gel pad as desired. The use of an air bladder allows the support to be deflated for very compact storage and transportation. Because the support can be deflated, the support can be easily stored and transported. The support can also be manually inflated by blowing in the valve. The air bladder is light weight and provides for compact storage.

The embodiments of the present invention herein described and illustrated are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. They are presented to explain the invention so that others skilled in the art might utilize its teachings. The embodiment of the present invention may be modified within the scope of the following claims. 

1: A firearm support device for supporting and stabilizing a firearm comprising: a fabric covering defining a pliable support body having an interior therein and at least one exterior surface for supporting a firearm; an air bladder disposed within the support body interior; and a valve for selectively inflating and deflating the air bladder to selectively control the firmness of the air bladder. 2: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the air bladder includes an air tight membrane defining an inflatable interior and an expandable filler material disposed within the membrane interior, whereby the filler material expands within the membrane when the air bladder is inflated. 3: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the filler material is foam. 4: The firearm support device of claim 1 and a volume of granular material disposed within the support body interior. 5: The firearm support device of claim 4 wherein the air bladder and the volume of granular material are located at opposite ends of the support body interior. 6: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body is block shaped and has a recessed channel at one end. 7: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body is L-shaped. 8: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body has a triangular shape. 